WESTLAKE -- When Bob Parry became the planning director for Westlake in June 1987, he admits he had no idea what he was getting into.

During his time in Westlake, Parry has helped guide the city through numerous projects including the development of Crocker Park, the extension of Crocker Road and business incentive programs that have drawn businesses to the city.

At the end of April, after 26 years on the job, Parry will retire.

Advertisement

"It's going to be hard leaving here," he said. "I'm sure there will be days when I'm at home wondering if I did the right thing in leaving."

When he started with the city, Westlake was a much different place than it is today.

"When I started in 1987, the west half of Westlake was pretty vacant," Parry said. "The land around Crocker Road, which only ran to Center Ridge Road at that time, was vacant for the most part."

Prior to coming to Westlake, Parry worked as the deputy director of the Cuyahoga County Regional Planning Commission. While there, he was part of the development of the cities of Rocky River, Brecksville and Beachwood.

"I did all the work for Beachwood planning, including the early plans for work in the village, Beachwood Place mall and the science park," Parry said. "Over my 16 years with the county, I saw Beachwood develop, so when I came to Westlake, I had a lot of experience working with communities."

Parry got to work immediately when he came to Westlake. He helped push through zoning changes that broke up the long strips of commercial property along the main streets of the city.

"We implemented a mix of office and residential zones in there, while concentrating the retail at the intersections," Parry said. "The thinking behind that was to prevent the long strips of retail that run from one end of a city to the other, like you see in some other communities."

Westlake eventually decided to concentrate the majority of its retail and shopping to one area, near I-90. In 1989, the development of the Promenade began on the corner of Crocker and Detroit, which Parry said was the first big project he was involved in while working in Westlake.

During the 1990s, many communities began to discuss the idea of creating town centers that included a mixture of residential, office and retail space. In Westlake, at that time, it was a radical idea.

"Our zoning code was exclusive zoning districts, or Euclidean zoning," Parry said. "With that, each district was totally separate and didn't allow for any other zoning in that area."

Around 1999, the city finally approved planned unit developments, or mixed-use districts. That district would eventually become Crocker Park.

The rest is now history. Crocker Park has become an identity for the city, and according to Parry, has finally given Westlake a true downtown area.

While Crocker Park is easily the biggest project that Parry was part of during his time in Westlake, he said it's just one of many accomplishments he's proud of during his time.

Another is the extension of Crocker Road, connecting it with Stearns Road. While the project wasn't completed until 2009, Parry said the extension project actually wasn't connected with Crocker Park in any way.

"The extension of Crocker Road was something the city has been working on since the 70s," Parry said. "To finally get it finished was a huge accomplishment."

Another accomplishment Parry is proud of is the tree ordinance, which limits the clear-cutting of trees for projects, and also mandating businesses incorporate trees in their development plans.

"I think it creates a softer development of the city, rather than the hard development of concrete and asphalt you see in other communities," he said. "I don't think people necessarily realize the effect it has on the look of the city, but it will be very noticeable in 15 years."

During the mid-90s, Westlake began seeing a number of businesses leave the city for other locations that offered business incentives and tax breaks. Parry and his staff were instrumental in developing a business plan that offered businesses incentives which has kept companies such as Hyland Software in the city, while also drawing others, such as American Greetings.

So does Parry have any plans for his retirement?

"After being involved with planning for 44 years, I think I'm just going to wing it for a few months," he said. "It'll be nice to not plan for awhile."

He expects to spend some time working on his water color paintings and photography, two hobbies that he's recently become passionate about. Eventually, he may even do a little consulting work.

"I've enjoyed working in this city. It's been a great place to work, and I've had great people to work with," Parry said. "I've been very fortunate to have a lot of stability here. That has been a great help."